The young lady hired me to help her and the young master have an online romance.

Jiang Wan picked up her phone, clutching it in her palm, feeling restless and anxious like an ant on a hot pan.

I couldn't type a single word for half a day.

How so?

Say "I'm sorry, I won't do it again next time"?

To say, "That's not me, that's the real Gu Manning"?

Say, "Actually, my name is Jiang Wan, and I was hired by Gu Manning to pursue you."

They all seemed to have died tragically.

But clearly, "bearing the accusations" is less harmful than "showing your cards on the table".

Just as Jiang Wan was organizing her thoughts on how to explain, she received another message.

Lie: [Is it fun?]

Jiang Wan wanted to cry but had no tears.

It's not fun.

It's not fun at all.

She subconsciously sent her heartfelt words.

Nice Rabbit Squid: [Not fun at all, not fun at all]

Across the ocean, Boston.

Shang Shixu looked at the line of text, a mocking smile curving his thin lips.

A line of text is typed with fingertips—

Lie: [Didn't eight male models satisfy you?]

After sending it, he added another sentence.

Lie: [Do you want me to order eight more for you? Or how many do you think would be fun? I'll pay for it.]

Haicheng, Yunshang Club.

Jiang Wan took a deep breath after seeing the two barbed lines of text.

She told herself—

calm.

Must be calm.

At this time, you must not panic.

The angrier he gets, the more he cares.

This indicates that good progress has been made in the past two months.

Jiang Wan felt that this matter might be an opportunity.

An opportunity that changed her relationship with Shang Shixu.

But she cannot be led by Shang Shixu; she must turn the passive into the active.

Jiang Wan's mind raced, and her fingertips typed out an explanation—

Nice Rabbit Squid: [I know you're angry, but please let me explain first.]

[I had a huge fight with my dad tonight because he let our illegitimate son into the company and was competing with me for power. We argued fiercely, and I was upset so I came to the club to have a drink.]

You should know that my dad really wants me to get close to you, and that was also my initial intention when I approached you.

He's letting his illegitimate son into the company now because he has no hope that I'll use him to get close to you.

As I've explained before, my initial feelings for you were primarily driven by self-interest, but later my emotions took over.

Whether from a perspective of mutual benefit or out of personal motives, I hope to be with you.

Jiang Wan paused for a moment after typing this.

She continued typing.

[I've booked eight male models to accompany me for drinks tonight, and the reason is simple. The pressure from my family, the pressure of not being able to win you over—it all piled up and suddenly exploded tonight, so I just wanted to vent.]

Lying was wrong of me, because I wanted to maintain a good image in front of you. It's understandable that you're angry, since it was all because of my own selfish motives.

But honestly, I don't think I did anything wrong by hiring male models to accompany me for drinks.

I paid for emotional value, which is legal and compliant with regulations. We are currently just friends, and there is no cheating involved.

I'm explaining all this to you because I don't want to lose you.

Okay, I've said my piece. From now on, I completely respect your decision.

Jiang Wan sent out a series of explanations.

She's gambling.

Betting on how much weight your "pet" carries in terms of business timing.

Should he choose to let things slide and maintain the ambiguous status quo, or should he lend "her" a hand, establish a romantic relationship with her, and allow "her" to completely seize the inheritance rights?

Or, they could sever all ties and forget each other in the vast world.

The decision-making power has always been in his hands.

Jiang Wan has done everything she could, and now she can only wait for his decision.

After the message was sent, there was no reply from the other party for a long time.

Jiang Wan waited until it was time to get off work.

She went to the changing room on the first floor, changed her clothes, and left the club.

The night breeze was a bit chilly. As she walked toward the subway entrance, she dialed Gu Manning's number.

Such a big thing has happened, we need to let her know.

The phone rang three times before being answered.

"Hey, Wanwan."

Jiang Wan asked calmly, "Are you still at the club?"

Gu Manning: "No, I'm driving back to my apartment right now. What's wrong?"

"Find a place to park the car first, I need to talk to you about something."

Gu Manning turned into the side road and parked on a deserted side street. "I've stopped. You can talk now."

Jiang Wan took a breath, "I'll send you a photo on WeChat first."

"Okay." Gu Manning looked suspicious, then frowned after seeing the photo. "Who took this?"

"Who took the photo is no longer important; what matters is that Shang Shixu saw the photo."

"What?!"

Gu Manning exclaimed in surprise. After a few seconds, she realized the seriousness of the situation, and her voice became weak.

"Have I...have I caused you a lot of trouble?"

No sooner had Jiang Wan told her that she and Shang Shixu were in a flirtatious relationship than Shang Shixu caught her dating a male model.

This is simply unacceptable.

Jiang Wan: "Now that things have come to this, let's not talk about trouble or inconvenience. I just wanted to tell you that I have already explained your current situation to Shang Shixu."

"Now it's up to him to choose whether to agree to date you and help you get the family fortune, or to cut ties completely."

After listening, Gu Manning took a deep breath and slowly sighed, "I understand."

"Thank you. I know you've done all you could."

"This whole thing started because of me, and no matter what the final outcome is, I will not treat you unfairly."

Seeing the somber atmosphere, Jiang Wan teased her, "Stop being so sentimental, I'm getting goosebumps."

Gu Manning laughed, "I wasn't being sentimental, I was serious."

Jiang Wan smiled slightly. "I know. Okay, the subway's here. I'll take it back and let you know when I have the results."

"Okay, okay, I'll wait for your call."

"Bye-Bye."

Jiang Wan hung up the phone and walked into the subway.

The carriage wasn't crowded, so I just found a seat and sat down.

I opened Facebook, but there were no new replies in the chat window.

Jiang Wan didn't send any more messages and closed the chat window.

*

Boston.

The raindrops pounded on the car roof, densely packed like the beat of a drum.

The entire carriage had only one small, lit screen, like a small window in the darkness.

Shang Shixu held his phone, reading through the entire explanation word by word.

A flood of emotions overwhelmed my mind.

Some felt sorry for what she went through at home, some were angry at her lies and deceptions, and some were annoyed that she went to male models while pursuing him.

A mix of emotions swirled together, creating a tangled mess that left him unsure how to respond.

He looked out the window.

The world was blurred into a gray-black hue by the curtain of water.

Shang Shixu pondered for a long time in the darkness.

I've finally sorted out some of my thoughts.

......

Haicheng, S University.

Jiang Wan had just arrived at her dorm when her phone screen displayed: "Lie invites you to a voice call."

finally come.

Jiang Wan pressed the answer button.